Knitting-machine.



M66 W l A. M. PIGBON. l

KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19. 1908.

943,230. Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

5 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNEssEs:

waz? m. MG50/zg A. M. PIGEON.

KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLIGATIONPILED sBPT.19,190B,

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Dec. 14 1909 NVENTOR. wfrmnGO/g E I I A. M. PIGBON.

IINIT'IING MACHINE.

. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19, 190s.

@mggygn Patented Dec. 14, 1909, 5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVEN-ron: /.mTmP/a'faa,

A. M. PIGEON.

KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLIGATloN FILED sEPT.19, 1-908.

943,230. Patented 1360,14, 1909.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

FICM

1 l I I l 1 l i l 2 a i l n l l A. M. PIGEON.

KNITTING MAQIIINE.

APPLICATION FILED sEPT.I9,19os. 943,230, Patented Dec.14,1909.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

INVENTORC gf/55mm f/fm,

wlTNEssEsz' A pesano.

To all icliom 'it may concern:

Be. it known that I, ALBERT M. Pioner?, of Philadelphia.j in the county of Philadelphia and State ot' Pennsylvania, have invented certain new. and Auseful improvements in` Kiiittinlh/ innes, ivliercol the following is a speciiication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.l y

Iy invention relates to knitting machines employing independently Inova le spring beard needles.

The object of my invention is to provide a knitting machine capable oit the various adaptations and functiois now usually found in latch needle machines, but capable of doing 'liner Work.

It' independently movable latch needles are reduced in Width heloiv a certain standard. Weakness develops at the pivot, so that. by employing spring l e: rd needles iiner Work may be accomplished than with latch needles.

machine organized as l will describe it, and employing spring beard needles is capahle or performing all the functions of the ordinary latch needle machine, but canproduce work of a greater degree of tineness.

I have shown and will describe my invention as applied to ,a stocking knitter, which apart from the particular parts which I will dcscribe may be organized as is the ordinary American stocking knitter employing latch needles, and for this reason l have shown in the drawings only those parts which relate to my invention becausev the other parts-of the knittiiio' machine may Ibe of standard construction, but it Will oe fiinderst'ood that my invention is not 'thus limited to stocking knitters, nor toA any particular type of kuittingr machine.

My invention comprises a complete stocking,l knitter, Iand accordingly iii this specilica-- tion l will describe the entire mechanism in order that the operation ot1 the parts may be understood, but in the present case the claims relate more particularly to the ver-A `tically iiio'ahle beard pressers cooperating with the spring heard needles, together with the operative mechanism for said beard press ers, whereby I obtain amore effective foi'- mation of the .knitting loops under all the conditions involved iii-the fahricationoi" a knit stocking' than is secured hy other mechanisms.

Speciticclainis relatingto the siiikei's and their operative mechanism and also to the ALBERT VIJPIGEGN, 0E

Specification of Letters Eatent. Application tiled. September 19, 1908,

l i i i l -view showing the threac;

thread feeding mechanism, and in controlling the ie, have been no from this case by virtue ot' a reduire-,ment division.

ln the accompanying drawing. is aplan View oi the npy ort' in machine. Fig. H, is a ver ion on the line Il, H, oie Fig. Hi., is a side elevation looking trovati 'ir right hand corner or" ifi? i. horiiiiie il", iV, of nientary se tional zoiital ii taken ou 1 i s oiann aainst;

Fig. ll. i" v 'e formation of the the needles previous to tl stitches. Fig. "di, is

needle cani cylinder and pre.

Fig. itil, is a ii'iaginentrry showing the relaeive p p r le, heard. presser and thread en heard oi1 the needle is closed. Fig. V 1H,

is a si` ar view showing the relative posi` 'tions oit the saine parts zitter the thread has heen taken'by 'the needle and .the loop drawn. is al perspective view illus? trating` the relative movements ot the needles and sinkers Vtogether with the thread Which they engage, illustrating Atheiijinetliod of loop formation. Fig. li., 's a. detail view o the guide trame which controls the operas tion of the thread eye. A

So fares concerns the primary parts of the machine, which it possesses in common with a l similar ki'iitting machines, they coinprise the hed plate 1, which -aiiords va bearing for the loiver end of a cain cylinder 2, having a dependiingannular bevel gear 3, ar-

ranged tomove within an annular groove 4,

formed in the upper Jace of said bed late:

Said gear is adapted to be driven by a evel` ieveiopnient the' is rotatably maintained in itsproper lof'.

cation. v

The spring heard needles 23, are of the usual construction and provided with long and short butts Q4, and 25,.

Mounted upon the inner periphery of the cani cylinder 2, are the stitch cams 10, 11,'

upper center cam 12, guard cams 14, 15,

lower center cam 16, 'and needle elevating cams 17, 17; Operating through a recess 18, in the wall of the cam cylinder 2, are a droppickcr 19, and a raising` and loweringAv cain 20.

which may be of well known construction, and operating in a well known manner. The lifting, pickers21," and 22, are also of well known construction. One-half of the series of needles in the presence instance, .are 'pro-Y vided with long butts 24, and the other half with short butts 25, yand said needles slide in grooves 27, in they stationary needle cylinder 26. celtes the positins' assumed lby the upper ends of the needles under the influence of the cams 10, 11, 12, and-17. The upper end of each needle is formed with a spring beard 29, arranged to be moved by a presser to bring the lower'end of the beard into contact with the shank of the needle, thus forining a closed thread-eye. A guard cam 30, is secured to an angle platev 3l, which in turn depends from the periphery of a rotary cam ring 44, said guard cam being provided to prevent any needle butts from engaging the beard presser operating cams.

l will nent describe in order, first, the beard pressers anditheir operative mechanism, whereby they coperate with the spring beard needles to close their, beards when ting' cams and Aneedles and beard pressersrespectively, the

their loops are to beK cast oi.- qecon'd, the sinkers wlth their operating mechanism, and, third, the thread feeding mechanism and its controlling means.

(l) The beard 'premiers and their operatwe mechanisme-'For the reciprocation of the ybeard pressers which moye vertically in vthe same grooves which receive the needles, the needle grooves are cut deeper into the 'needle cylinder than would otherwise be the case, so 'that the needle bars project a considerable dist-ance above the outer face of the shank of the needles, the butts of the needles ,being correspondin ly, elongated. Withinl the space thus :provi ed and within theneedlegrooves beyond the outer faces of the needle Shanksa beard presser 3.6, is inserted in correspondence tov each needle. The beard presser is of the same width as the needle groove and is adapted to bear and slide against the shank of the needle with which it ccperates. The beard presser is provided with a laterally extending butt 37, at its lower end and a beard pressing nib 38,at its upper end. Belowl said nib 38, is a recess 39. y

Secured to the upper end of the needle cylinder 26, is van annular plate 40, having a depending annular flange 41, provided with a circumferential grqove 42. Fitting around the lower end of the lange.41,is a shouldered cam ring which are attached four angle plates 45, having their horizontal portions slidably fitting the groove 42, thereby maintaining said ring 44, 1n proper rotative relation with said flange 41.

Adjustably secured to the outer periphery of the ring 44, are. two angle lugs 46, 47, arranged to be engaged by the upwardly letending arnil 48,

The dotted line 28, in Fig. Vl, indi# which secured to the base of thev cylinder 2, wherebyV the ring 44, may'be rotated, or oscillated by a lost motion connection, depending upon'the motion of he cam cylinder 2. Thisv lost motion connection is utilized during reciprocatory knitting, as during theormation' of the heel and toe pockets of a stocking,

:and affords a means or placing the beard presser cams in roperrelation .with the center of the need e cams at each successive oscillation. 7 i

Mounted upon the inner periphery of the ring 44, are the center cam 50, and side cams. 51;, and 52, arranged to co'perate with the butts 37, on" thebeard pressers to control their operations. The dot and dash line 54, indicates the positions assumed by the= upper ends of the beard pressers 36, under the influence of the cam's 50, 51, and' 52,` while the dotted-line 28, shows the corresponding l position f the upper ends of the needles under theinfluence of the needle cams when themachineA is rotating in the direction indicated in the drawings.

As a result of the coperation o the knitthe. presser cams with the needles, as the ymachine rotates, successively rise to take the thread and descend to' draw the stitch in the manner well known in knitting while the beard pressers rise under the iniuence of the center cam 50, somewhat before the needles reach the lowermost limit of their motion and are maintained in an elevated position until the needle begins to ascend again when they are restored to the normal level. The result of the cooperation thus occasio ed.between the needles and the beard resfi's results in pressure beingimposed y t e nibs of beard of the needle as it descends to cast oi its old ldb'p, this pressuremaintaining the point of the practically all of the final descent of vthe needle, so` that not only is the old loop. slid los the pressers upon ythe beard in closed position, during up over the point of the-beard, but the beard i ,I

and unduly distending=the loop as it is cast oii.

(2) The sinkers and their 0pe1'atz'ng-meehaaism-.The sinkers according, to my inven` tion, perform the double function of sinking the yarn between the needles and ofacting as a loop holder to hold down the web.. The sinkers are located in radial relation to each other in grooves 43, inv the annular plate 40, and also in the upper end of the needle cylinder 26, the grooves being so spaced that asinker is interposed between each pair of needles. `nach sinker 60, comprises in addition to its body portion, two upward projections 61, and 62. Its inner end also projects beyond the portion G2, to forni the nose G3, which supports the web and feeds it forward as the sinker is moved horizontally back and forth as will be eX plained. The inner edge of the projection G2, is provided -with two notches and 65. rllhe notch 64, is for engaging the thread 66, when the bit 60, is moved inwardly to sink theloop and draw the zthread. aroundl the Shanks of the adjacent needles, asl shown in Fig. V. The notch 65, isfor holding the web after the stitch is formed, so that the needle may 'ce withdrawn therefrom with' out drawing the loop with it.

ttotatably mounted upon the upper side of the grooved plate 40, is an annular cani plate 7G, having a depending peripheral ilange 7l., and also two vconcentric ridges l2, and YS, dep riding trom its under side. T he outer veri'. surface lll, ot' the ridge and ther inner vertical faccio., ot the ridge "(3, are adapted to act as cani surfaces for engaging the lateral projections Si, andl ($2, respeetiyely o tain them in pr greater part tl ,t the sink'ers G0, to mainoper position during the 1e rotation.

.Secured to i.. f un er side of plate 70, are cams 7'?, and 78, also the adictingcams 1GO, and 161. An .le center cani 79, is slidably sus penned on the under of plate '70, by means of a screw- 80, passing through an elongated slot 531, in said plate and resting the under side oit' its head upon the upper surface of said plate. Projecting upwardly from the cam '(9, is a stud 82, which projects through an elongated slot 83, in the plate 7G; said stud 82, is arranged 'to bear against the vedge or" cani S5, which is mounted about bolt' Se, pivotally supported by a bracket Si", secured to the outer periphery of the flange 7l.

.fr rocker arai S8, having two lateral ex* tensions Si?, and 90, is adjustablysecured to the cani S5, by means of a screw 9i, passing through a curved slot ,92, in the central poi'- tion of il arm. ence to-r ig. l, that the curvature of tlieedge of the cani $5, ot' gradually increasing radius from leit to right, and by adjusting the relative positions ot' said cam and said rocker arni, the extent to which the cani 79, will he moved 'by the contact or' its stud 82, with the edge oi cam S5, may be varied. By thus varying the posit-ion ot' the cam 79. the extent of movement of the sinhers G0, is varied, and consequently the amount to which the thread 66, is distended by the projection S2. `In this manner the length of the stitch formed by the needles may be varied. and

consequent-ly the degree of tightness ot the resulting fabric will be correspondingly .lt will be noted by refer`v l l l l l l i i l l i l l lug having a depending tapering vportion Q5, which is adapted to be engaged under cer'- tain conditions by the disk cam 96. -disk cani may be raised and lowered by any suitable mechanism which may be controlled, for example, by a pattern mechanism, such as is well known in machines of this general class. 4

The extension 90, has a lug 97, on its outer end provided with adjustable projections 98, and 9S), which may be formed of screws and retained in their adjusted positions by means of seit screws 100. Said projections may also be engaged bythe disk cai'n 9G, when it is raised to their respective levels, Athereby turning the rocher arm vS8, and with it the cani S5, thereby varying the extent to which the earn 79, is moved inwardly, and consequently varying the length ot stitch accordingly.

Secured lo the outer periphery of the flange 7l, are two angle plates 102, `and 103,

loving their inner4V ends spaced apart suliiciently to receive therebetween the post lO-l, on the upper end ot' the arm 4S. ily means Aof this arrangi-:nient the plate 7G, and the @am cylinder 2, are rotated in unison.

a result of the sinker cams which have been described, and thei actuation by` the above recited mechanism, the circle of sinkers which normally rest with their noses projecting over the inner edge ct the needle cylinder' are given three successive motions ot withdrawal iii-the form oi` three successive waves corresponding to the. inner edges of the cams 77, 7l), and T8, suceessively. Ot these three wave like motions, the central one is the greatest in extent, The one tiret occurring is without etiect in the operation of the machine being useful only uponreverse motion during reciprocation. Uilen referring to Fig. IX, the pre'-v cise relation of these sinlrer movements to those of the needles and the feeding ot thev yarn will be observed. The main withdrawal oi" the suiker corresponding to the notch 3,07, ot cam 79, occurs the needles' begin to descend. lt is during this withdrawal that the thread is fed against the shanlrs of the needles being led by the thread eve 110, against the shank at a point below the beard and directly opposite the notch (il, of the sinlrer. Immediately upon the return ot' the sinker to its normal position it catches the yarn within its notch and sinks it between the needles thus firmly hold.

ing the incipient loop against the shank of each needle just below the heard, as seen in the central part of Fig. IX. lVhile thus held the needles begin the second part 'of their descent under the influence of the t'ollowing stitch cam l1, by which the loop is passed under the` point of the beard because of the descent ot the needle while the loop is held in position by the notches G4.

Said.

Shortly thereafter the the loops down, a

sinkers are again withdrawn by cam 78, so that the needles in their further descent, pull the yarn which is. now freed from the notches G4, down to thelowcr level of lthe tops ol: the noses of the sinkers, whereupon, the sinkers again n'go forward by which motion the yarn between the loops is engaged with the notches G5, which, during the entire remainder ot the rotation of the cylinder, operate to hold function which continues until after the needles ,have been advanced over the top of the lt will therefore be seen that during each rotation of the cylinder each sinker operates, first, as a loop sinker properly eo-called, and engaging the yarn within its notch 6e, and sinking it between the needles and then after a temporary withdrawal operates as a web holder engaging the loops beneath the notch G5, at the same time, as usual in sinkers of this gene-ral construction, the the sinkers by their wave like motion continuously operating to feed web for ward.

(3) The thread feed/ng mechanism @mi 'its controlling means, The thread (i6, may be fed from any suitable bobbin, (not shown). A thread eye 110, is provided at the extremity of a. swinging arm 112, which is supported by a plate 1111, attached to a wire traine 115.- The ends of the wire frame,

are` bent to form trunnions 116, which are journaled in holes formed in the bracket 87. As shown in. Fig'. H, the threadeye 110, is normally in close proximity to the line of travel of the beards of the needles in order 1 tremity.

elo

to properly feed the thread to said needles.

Mounted to overhang the arm 112, and adapted to move therewith, ie a hooked arm 118, having' a cross arm 119, at its free exthread eye 120, isprovided in 'the arm 118, through which the thread 136, passes on the way to the thread eye 110. ,A notch 122, is formed on the under side of the cross arm 119, for a purpose to be explained. A. spring 124, is monnted upon the plate O, by means of a screwi125, and washer 126, and has its rree end bearingagainst the upper side of the bese of theerm 118, thus tending to-lmaintain said arm 118', and the arm 112, in the position shown in Fig. ll.

Mounted upon tl upper side of the. plate 70, are two brachu .28-

129, which support. the ends of a wire. 150, which is bent in the are of a circle. Adjustably mounted upon said wire are two collars 131, and 132; said collars may be retained in adjusted positionby means of set screws 133. Slidably mounted upon the wir-e 130, is a guide frame 135, having a cross bei 136, provided with ears 131i., and 138, at its ends. Said ears slide over the'wire 130, and are limited in their travel by the collars 131, and 132, re-

spectively. In order to move said. -trame leading;- stitch cam 10.v

noses ot.

135, along said wire, l provide two sprin s 140, and 141, connected at their inner ends to the eye lug 142, on the cross bar 136. Their outer ends are connected tothe wire arms 14:41, and 145, respectively, which in turn are mounted upon angle plates 15, on the ring 44. An arm 1116, extends laterally from the traine 135, and is adapted to ride in the notch 122, under predetermined conditions to control the relative movement of frame 135, and thread eye 110.

At the lower end of the trarne 135, and at substantially right angles thereto is a plate 150, having its central portion formed with two beveled edges 151, and 152, which are `adapted to come in contant with the end needles 0In the series that are raised during the knitting of the heel and toe pockets ot a stocking. Said plate 150, has two curved wings 154i, and 15.5, which act as guides.

During circular knitting when all the nee are in action, the plate 150, is above the level oi' their tops and therefore maintained the'same position. vl/'hen rotating as indicated by the arrow in Fig. l, the wing 15%-, bears against the outer faces oi' the needle Shanks, which are raised to the highest position shown in dotted line 28, of Fig. Vl, thereby keeping the plate 150, from swingv ing in too tar under the influence of the springs 1410, and 111. When rotating in the opposite direction the wing 15.5, performs the same function.

During the narrowing and Widening process in the knitting of heel and toe pockets, the beveled edges 151, and 152, come in con` tact with the end needles ot the raised series, whereupon the traine 135, isswun backward and with it the arms 118, and 112, are raised, thereby withdrawing the threadcye 11G, trom its proximity to the needles, thus preventing the thread from being ted to the needles which are being thrown out oi or into action in the narrowi ing and widening operation.

During reciprocatory knitting, as when heel and toe pockets ere knit, the action of the active needles, beard pressers and Sinin ers is thesaine as explained above, except that they are operated alternately, by one side and then the other of the cams described; Duringf such knittin, theA long` butt needles are raised to the i le level, as

is well known. During the narrowing op eration a needle is thrown up ends of the idle series at each and during the widening operation a needle is pulled down at alternate ends during each oscillation. lWhen the machine is rotating in the direction indicated by the. arrow in Fig. l, the beveled edge 151, encounters the shank` ofthe end needle of the `raised'series, whereby the frame 135, is

tilted so that the arm 146, strikesthe cross arm 119, thereby tilting arms 118, and 112,

at alternatei oscillation` and raising the tnread eye 110, to draw the thread away' from the feeding position for the needles.v 'Thegframe 135, slides over wire 1.30A until the eer 138, encounters the collar 132, whereupon said collar acts to positively drive the-frame 185. The arms 144, and 145. remain stationary when the .direction of oscillation is reversed, unt-il the lost motion ybetween the. arms 48, and.

plates 46, and 4T, is taken up. During the time that the arm 48, is passingfrom plate 47, to plate 46, the spring 141, is put under tension and lso remains until the direction of oscillation is reversed.' Upon such reversal the spring 140,'is placed under tension and thearm 146, is drawn into the notch 122, whereby .the plate 150, and thread eye 110, are maintained in correct relative position so that the thread .will be fed to the needles at the right moment as the bev-- eled surface 151, recedes past the last idle needle. The, notch 122, .is elongated in order that the arm 146,' may move an .equal istance on each side of the center whenv the direction of rotation of the cam cylinder is changed, in order that the thread eye 110,4

may be lowered into feeding position at the 'proper moment as determined by the beveled plate 150.

Bythisl construction it will A*be Seen thatv the thread is properly fedto and withdrawn from the constantly changing series of needles. It will be understood that this sequence of operationswill take place alternately at each end of the series.

`Having thus 'described my invention, I claim 1. In a knitting machine, fitted with a series of spring beard needles, a series of individually reciprocating beard presse/rs, each beard presser being adapted-to recipro-A cate in a line parallel to the axis of the needle with which it is associated.

2. In a knitting machine, a grooved needle cylinder; a series of spring beard needles reciprocating within said grooves; and a similar series of individual beard' pressers, corresponding to said needles, and reciprocating within said grooves.

f 3. In ai knitting machine, aneedle eyli-nnderl provided with grooves; a. spring beard `needle in each groove; a beard presser also inserted in eachgroove and overlying the #shank of the needle; and means for, simultaneously but vindependently, imparting a motion of reciprocation to the needles? and to the beard presser-s.

el. In a knitting machine, the combination of a spring beard needle; a beard presser in contact withthe outer face of the shank of the needle; a bit upon the upper end of the beard presser; and means for imparting reciprocation 'to the beard presser parallel to. the needle whereby thepoin't of the beard is .closed as the needle sinks within each old loop to cast it'off.

` of'a grooved cylinder contalning needles in its grooves; a series of beard pressers in' said 80 grooves overlying the needles; butts upon such beard pressers; and a circular groove' with interposed cams for the reception of said butts whereby reciprocating motion is imparted to the beard pressers.

7. Ina knitting machine, the combination of 'spring beard needles; a beard presser` alongside 'of each needle; sinkers between.

the needles; andmeans for imparting independent motion to needles, beard pressers andsinkers, the motion of the needles and beard pressers vbeting parallel with each other.

8. In a, knitting maphine, the combination of spring beard needlesand beard pressers; means for imparting an independent but parallel reciprocatory motion to both needles and beard pressers; and sinkers interposed between the needles'a'nd provided with loop sinking notches and web holding notches below the loop sinking notches.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name, 4at Providence, county of Providence, State of Rhode Island this 15th day of September, 1908.

ALBERT M. PIGEON.

'Witnesses J osEPH A. Pien N, A. MANonnsnnn HUssEY. 

